When the music started to play, the spotlight wasn't the only thing that lit up Sala Apolo's hall. With an outfit full of sparkling rhinestones, Bill Kaulitz welcomed Barcelona on their stop in the city for their Beyond The World tour. The start got the whole room singing White Lies: the singer donned a cowboy hat and had an electric guitar and he was flanked by Tom Kaulitz on the left and Georg Listing on the right, as Gustav Schäfer played to the beat in the background with his drums. The opening scene already promised a great show. And so it was.
Tokio Hotel was a revelation back in 2005, when the German music group was on the cover of every youth magazine at the time. The Kaulitz brothers (the singer and guitarist and the pianist and producer) together with Georg Listing (bassist) and Gustav Schäfer (drummer) created a sensation among teenagers who were touched by their melancholic lyrics. You might remember them for making waves in emo aesthetics and making them mainstream, as they're still remembered to this day for their black smoky eyes, hair highlights and piercings. Almost 20 years have passed since then, and now the band has a different aesthetic – mainly their frontman, Bill, who has opted for a colourful glitter all-over style. However, if one thing hasn't changed over the years, it's their stage presence, and they proved it in Barcelona last Friday.
For the Beyond The World Tour, the band has prepared a set list that not only includes songs from their new album 2001 such as HIM, Runaway or Just a moment; but also songs for older fans such as Girl Got a Gun, Run, Run, Run, Run or the iconic and possibly best known from the group, Monsoon – and in German! What a joy for the fans. With the start of each chord the room was filled with shouts of excitement, motivating the group even more and making their performances more and more breathingtaking. To add to this spectacle we must talk about Bill's outfit changes for each song. The stage would go dark, and when the lights came back on, the singer would show up with a different outfit but with the same essence: extravagance and a lot of glitter.
All night long, the stage was the only point of light in the entire room. The floors and walls rumbled to the rhythm of Tokio Hotel while the audience sang every song without a mistake, which made Bill, half laughing and half surprised, address his audience more than once with a “Wow, I see you guys know them perfectly.” The audience responded to the singer euphorically to the following songs, proving the deep connection between the band and their fans, making it quite a unique experience.
We already knew that Tokio Hotel's live show was going to be good, but in Sala Apolo they were more than that. The guitars and drums sounded perfect, and Bill's strong voice added to the movements and energy of the band on stage. Tokio Hotel said goodbye to Barcelona with Runaway and an euphoric audience: some screamed, others sang and many cried with emotion after having enjoyed the live music of their favourite band. For our part, if we had to describe the concert with one word we would say: impressive.
